Laterally adjustable endless tracks for tractors



Nov. 18, 1952 LUDEMA 2,618,349

LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE ENDLESS TRACKS FOR TRACTORS Filed May 20, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Lfmii w A-r-romev Nov. 18, 1952 LUDEMA 2,618,349

LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE ENDLESS TRACKS FOR TRACTORS Filed May 20. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FlG-Q Z. vhaven-vow Joe LUDEMA ATTonNEY Nov. 18, 1952 J. LUDEMA 2,618,349

LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE ENDLESS TRACKS FOR TRACTORS Filed May 20, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 \NVENTOR 7 5, Joe LUDEMA A-r-roaNEY NOV. 18, 1952 J LUDEMA 2,618,349

LATERAL-LY ADJUSTABLE ENDLESS TRACKS FOR TRACTORS Filed May 20. 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 \NVENTOR JOE LUDEM A ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 18, 1952 LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE ENDLESS TRACKS FOR TRACTORS Joe Ludema, Hudsonville, Mich.

. Application May 20,1949, Serial No. 94,330

2 Claims.

" This invention provides a construction for I track-laying vehicles, and is particularly intended for use in connection with special purpose tractors designed for the cultivation of certain types of crops. The cultivation of soft ground or muck does not require an excessive amount of drawbar horsepower, but does require the ability to remain upon the surface of the soil rather than either becoming bogged down or generating such excessively deep ruts as to endanger the drainage system or the crops themselves. It is therefore necessary to provide such cultivating machinery with a large load-carrying area in order to generate the required pulling, and also assure that the weight of the tractor will be adequately supported. Since many crops which are planted and cultivated in soft ground are very carefully located in rows and spaced within the rows, it is also necessary that the cultivating machinery be adapted to closely control the positions of the various cultivating-tools, and in no way interfere with the visibility of the same by the operator. Tractors designed for use with cultivating machinery will be used when the plants are in the growing process, and hence must be designed to straddle one or more rows of plants; and whatever wheels or supporting means are used must be adapted to travel between these rows and not injure the plants on either side. Since varying types of crops will require varying row spacings, the necessity is frequently present for making adjustment to the width of the track of the vehicle (the distance between the wheels or treads on one side and those on the other) in order to adapt the machine for. the particular requirements at hand.

The use of continuous tracks to support vehicles of varying descriptions has long been known, and the use of varying-width cultivat ng machinery is also not new. The present invent on adapts the track-laying princi le to a particular type of tractor in such a manner that a very simple construction results which can be manufactured and assembled with a minimum in capital outlay and overall cost. The very simplicity and the use of standard shapes for construction members makes the repair and replacement of parts in this machine a task which can be performed by anyone fairly skilled in the handling of tools, and does not re uire a great variety of factory-formed parts. The present invention, in many cases, enables the use of large components which are taken bodily from other types of standard machinery and are used in such a manner that little or no rework or modification is necessary.

The vehicle is built upon an essentially simple rectangular framework which provides a platform establishing the relationship of the various components involved. The forward section'of theve hicle is in many ways similar to'theusual'tr'actor of the light-duty variety. A pair of front wheels are mounted upon the front section of the frame, and suitable steering mechanism associates a steering wheel with these front wheels so that the tractor may be controlled in'the conventional manner. At the rear portion of the tractor, a small air-cooled gasoline engine is preferably mounted with a belt drive establishing a torque transfer over to a standard automobile transmission. The gear shift which is normally associated with such a transmission is connected to a pushrod, and the pushrod is associated with a manual control lever the movements of which serve to establish the gear relationships of the transmission.

The torque output of the transmission is transferred to a differential unit arranged to drive two separate coaxial shafts, one extending to each side of the vehicle. At the outer end of these shafts arrangements are made for the transfer of the toruue to a sprocket supporting one sec tion of the treads.

A transverse beam is preferably attached at the rear portion of the main framework of the tractor, the function of this beam being to sup port the wheel and track units. Preferably the lateral position of the track units is adjustable to accommodate the tractor for varying row-spacings. A vertical leg is clamped in any given po sition upon this transverse beam, and at the lower extremity of this leg a' pivoted beam is disposed in a fore and aft direction with a track guiding wheel at each end; The endless track is movable in a direction parallel tothe trans;

verse beam. The driving sprocket is splined to the shaft carrying it in order to remove the necessity of moving the entire shaft as the lateral ad justment of the track assembly is effected.

Means are provided in connection with the pivoted wheel-carrying beams for making adjust ment to tighten the endless tracks, and biasing means are also provided tending to rotate the beam in a direction so as to raise the front wheel. This biasing arrangement gives highly desirable characteristics when operating in soft or rough ground. Suitable stops are provided for limiting the rotation of the wheel-carrying beam withrree spect to the vertical leg. -i The steering of a tractor which utilizesth endless track principle is rendered somewhat troublesome unless means are provided for modifying the driving relationship between the treads on opposite sides of the vehicle. The purpose of the differential interposed between the transmission and t e drivinq s rockets for the track units is to enable relative movement to take place bet een the track un ts on either side of the vehicle. To facilitate the steering, selective braking is applied to either one of the tracks, with t e braking being automatically established by the turning of the steering wheel. In this manner the turning of the tractor is performed with considerable less effort on the part of the operator, and a much lighter lateral load is generated at the front wheels. This, of course, requires much less disturbance of the ground due to the angle between the front wheel and the direction of travel;

- :Since the'mo'tor of a tractor constructed accordingtmthe preferred form of the present invcntiondrives "the transmission throu h a belt system;meansz are preferably provided for tight- .ening'the: belt, andalso for'movine the componentsto' a position in which the belt is easily removed andreplaced. Due to the movement of themotor with-respect to theframe. a mechanismffor'the control of t e various functions of themotor mustbe provided which will permit this movement without disturbing the degree of control that: is necessary. The control of the throttle: resents 'noparticular roblem: but since the clutch requires a considerable mechanical operation in" order to mani ulate it, a part cular linkage-has been-developed in order to perform this function: 'A fixed'brack'et is rovided which moves with the motor, and the bracket provides theisupport for'a pivoted clutch-engaging yoke. Mation'isrtransmittedto the yoke by means of an engagement." with the forked end of a bell crank. The movement of the motor causes a projectiorr'upon the yoke to move within the confifiesroftheifork, while still permitting angular rotation of the bell crank to control the movementaoitheyoke; A pushrod extending to a point where iti'can' be conveniently operated by the driver oftlietractor establishesthe movement :of the b'e'lltcrankl Thev'arious' features of the present invention will be'analvaed'in'dtail'by'a discussion of the particuiarembodi'ments which are illustrated in the accompanyine'drawines. In these drawings,

Figure l'is a: side elevation of'a tractor construct'ed according" to the present invention.

Figure 2' is reanelevation on a somewhat lameer scaleoffthe same'device sho -11in Figure l.

Figured is. an enlarged side elevation of the traekian'dwheel assembly'shown in Figure'l, with certain of'thei partsremoved; in orderto better illustrate. the mechanism;

Eigure is a view showing'the; relationship between the. slideable vertical leg' and the. drive shaft; including. the. supports for the upper sprocket? Figure: 5'.is a; viewsh'owine the clutch control linka e and the motor-mounting.

F igure. 6Jis 'a schematic diagram showing the selective braking system and its-relationship. with tlfiesteering mechanism.-

Referring to Figure I, a tractor is shown havmg'theflfrontwlieels'It, the frame H, the operat'o'fls' seat f2, and the steering wheel l3. At the rearfportion oft'h e frame If, means are provided for mounting the air-cooled gasoline motor M. the" transmission'unit 1'5, and the transverse beam l6. Preferably, the beam I6 is round in crosssection in order to provide the best form for the clamping action which takes place between the vertical beam assembly H and the beam IS in order to laterally position the assembly. The clamping effect is provided by the bolts l 8 and I9 in the view shown in Figure 1 for the left hand wheel and track assembly, and similar means are provided on the opposite side of the vehicle if it is desirable to make both sides movable. In the usual .case, one of the wheel and track assemblies will be permanently fixed with respect to the horizontal beam l6, and the other will be constructed according to the view shown in Figure 1.

The wheel and track assembly serves to guide the endless track 28 through the positioning effect of the sprocket 2| andfthe wheels 22 and 23.

Referring to Figure 2, the. motor. .14 is .shown driving the .transrm'ssion .l 5 by means of the. belts Ziand 2.5. Thetransm-ission .l 5 is supported .upon the frame. ll hymeans of the braceslt. andLZ] which. are. shownbroken away in. Figure 2' for clarity in order not to obscure other features of the arrangement. The clutch unit associated with the motor is generally indicated at 28', and is controlled by the action of the yoke 29. The yoke 29 is pivoted at the point 30 as is best seen in Figure .5. Being mounted upon the pivot at 3i), the yoke member rotates in a transverse plane withrespect to the path of motion of the tractor, and causes the engagement and disengagement of the clutch. The movement of the yoke 29 is caused by the engagement of the lower extension 32 which is controlled by the fork 33 in the bell crank 34. The bracket 35 is fixed with respect to the frame ii, and rotatably supports the bell crank for rotation under the urging of the pushrod- 36 which is under the control of the operator through the .means of the foot pedal 31 as shoWn/ in Figure 1. The fixed members 38 and 39 are securely attached to the frame H, and are provided with the slots 40, Al and 42 (with another slot. not shown in Figure 5) in order to firmly hold the motor in position and yet permit the fore and aft movement required totighten the belts 24 and 25 or provide for the removal of the same. When the required positioning of the motor I 4 has been effected, the bolts passing through the slots are securely tightened and further movement of the motor is prevented. The movement of the motor carries with it the transverse beam 63, and the bracket 44 carrying the clutch operating yoke is accordingly moved with themotor.

The torque supplied to, the transmission by the. mechanism described above is converted to the desired torque and speed ratio, and then supplied to the differential. unit 45 by means of the. chain 4.5 and suitable sprockets. The shafts. l1. and 43 are driven by the differential unit 45, with the relative rotation between the two shaft sections controlled by the brakes 49' and 56. The shaft 4'! can be. splined as indicated. at 51,. and conventional bearing blocks are; provided. for supportingthe shaft sections as indicated.

The, selective. braking. system for facilitating the steering. of the tractor is best shown in Fig,- ure' 6.. The. steering wheel [3 induces rotation of the arm 52, the front end of which is associated with the front wheels by means of the usual linkage. At the rear portion of the arm 52, the cables 53 and 54 are attached, and pulleys are appropriately located to lead these cables; back'tothe: brake. units 49' and Ell-with which they are individually associated. It will be seen that the rotation of the steering wheel causing the front wheel to turn to the left will cause an increase in the braking of the unit 50, and will slow down the left hand wheel and track assembly in order to enable the turn to be made with a minimum amount of side thrust generated by the front wheel 10.

The construction of the wheel and track assemblies is best shown in Figure 3. In this view, the side plate 55 is removed in order to show more clearly the mechanism used to support the wheels. The beam 56 is pivotally connected to the lower end of the vertical beam l! at the point 51. A takeup arrangement is provided at this bearing in order to control the amount of looseness and to minimize the amount of wobble between the track unit and the vehicle itself. The wheels 22 and 23 are carried upon suitable shafts which are retained in position by means of the forks 58 and 59. Similar forks (not shown) are located on the opposite sides of the wheels 22 and 23 in order to complete the support of the respective shafts. The wheels 22 and 23 are of such a width as to fit between the link members of the chain 20, and position the same laterally. The forward fork 58 is extended a sufiicient length to provide for fore and aft adjustment of the position of the wheel 22 in order to tighten the endless track 20 as required. Tightening is effected by inserting one or more blocks 50 behind the shaft carrying the wheel 22, and the retaining strap 61 holds these blocks in position. At the central portion of the beam 56, a bracket 62 is provided carrying the wheel 63. This wheel supports the central portion of the track 20, and increases the load-carrying ability of the chain without greatly increasing the tension thereon.

The spring 54 is connected between a point on Rthe forward portion of the beam 56 and a fixed point 65 upon the vertical beam [1 in order to bias the beam 56 in a clockwise direction. The stops 66 and 61 are positioned as shown to limit the amount of rotation which is permitted to the beam. The side plates 55 and their opposite members are secured to the assembly shown in Figure 3 by suitable bolts passing around the beam 56 and securing the plate in position through the clamping effect of these bolts.

Referring to Figure 4, the arrangement for supporting the drive sprockets with respect to the vertical beam I! is illustrated. A bearing block 68 is bolted to the upper portion of the vertical beam I1. and provides a bearing for the shaft 41, and also positions the sprockets 2| and 21a.

It has been found desirable to provide the scraper 69 shown in Figure 3 to remove accumulations of dirt or foreign material from the track 20. These members prevent such material from interfering with the operation of the sprocket 2|.

The particular embodiments of the present invention which have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described herein are not to be considered as a limitation upon the I claim:

1. In combination with a vehicle having a frame and a motor mounted above said frame: horizontal beam means mounted transversely to said frame; vertical beam means mounted at an intermediate point thereon at opposite sides of said frame on said horizontal beam means, said vertical beam means on at least one side being adjustable along said horizontal beam means; endless track systems carried by each of said vertical beam means including track sprocket means rotatably mounted on the upper end of said vertical beam means above and on an axis parallel to said transverse beam means, trackguiding means disposed at the lower end of said vertical beam means, and endless track means positioned by said track sprocket and guide means; a drive shaft rotatably mounted in bearings coaxially with said track sprocket means at a position axially fixed with respect to said transverse horizontal beam means, said drive shaft having driving engagement with at least one of said track sprocket means; and power-transfer means connecting said motor and drive shaft.

2. In combination with a vehicle having a frame and a motor mounted above said frame: horizontal beam means mounted transversely to said frame; vertical beam means mounted at an intermediate point thereon at opposite sides of said frame on said horizontal beam means, said vertical beam means on at least one side being adjustable along said horizontal beam means; endless track systems carried by each of said vertical beam means including track sprocket means rotatably mounted on the upper end of said vertical beam means above and on an axis parallel to said transverse beam means, trackguiding means disposed at the lower end of said vertical beam means, and endless track means positioned by said track sprocket and guide means; and a drive shaft rotatably mounted in bearings coaxially with said track sprocket means at a position axially fixed with respect to said transverse horizontal beam means, said drive shaft having spline engagement with said track sprocket means on said side at a point between said bearings; and power-transfer means connecting said motor and drive shaft.

JOE LUDEMA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,105,862 Strait Aug. 4, 1914 1,400,690 Lewis Dec. 20, 1921 1,641,813 Johnston et al. Sept. 6, 1927 1,771,625 Halleck July 29, 1930 2,467,947 Skelton Apr. 19, 1949 2,535,762 Tapp et a1. Dec. 26, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 40,430 France Mar. 29, 1932 

